Survey responses by question

The following is a summary of survey responses for each question.

Please note: this survey is not representative of the entire Kingston community. Answers may also be influenced by the outreach efforts and staff interpretation. To prevent staff bias in reporting, a list of verbatim responses is available.

1. At the opening of the City's Public Engagement Framework, we state: The City is committed to engaging residents on matters that affect their quality-of-life and their city. Public engagement encourages participation, action, personal responsibility, and democracy. The goal is to facilitate more informed and inclusive municipal decision-making.

36.4% (100) of survey respondents indicated they are somewhat satisfied by the City’s fulfillment of this statement, while 19.3% (53) indicated they were very satisfied or somewhat dissatisfied.

2. How have you offered input on City projects? Choose as many as apply.

Respondents were asked to select how they have engaged with the City. 11 options, as well as an option to add different ways they have engaged. The top three options selected were completing a survey on Get Involved Kingston (231 respondents), emailing the Mayor or members of Council (125 respondents) and creating or signing a petition (96 respondents).

Other options added by respondents include:

• Phone call (2)
• Workplace
• Activism
• Getting Ahead Program
• Informing myself on areas of concern (2)
• Participating in public gatherings
• Emailing staff (2)
• Working directly with encampment residents, ICH staff, neighbours and police
• Contacted MP or Ministry staff (2)
• Council (4) - contacted district councillor or spoke with them face to face, attended Council meeting, or through correspondence for a Council meeting or deliberation

One respondent also expressed concerns about the anonymity and confidentiality of online surveys, as well as difficulty accessing online surveys

3. How do you usually learn about opportunities for public engagement at the City?

A total of 12 options, as well as the opportunity to add “other” opportunities, were presented to respondents to answer how they learn about opportunities for public engagement. The top three options selected were the Get Involved Kingston website (155), social media (105), and subscribing to City news releases (87).

Other options added by respondents include:

• Email updates (15)
• By chance (2)
• Mailed updates (1)
• Signage (2)
• Word of mouth (3)
• Local community organizations (1)

Two additional user comments include:

• there is very poor communication on new projects if you are not on social media. I often find out about a project on the local news after is has been started or completed.
• I typically have to track things down and find ways to get involved. The city does not make much effort in getting citizens involved.

4. What barriers, if any, have you experienced when trying to provide feedback on City of Kingston projects or initiatives? If you have not experienced barriers, please skip this question.

Respondents were presented with nine barriers to participation, as well as an opportunity to skip this question or add another option. The three primary barriers selected include; Information: I haven’t had enough details about a project to provide informed feedback (104 responses), Time: I don’t have time to participate in any engagement activities (55 responses), and Another barrier not listed (43).

Other barriers not listed were grouped into the following areas:

• Anonymity and confidentiality
• Survey bias and poor survey design
• Timing and frequency of engagements
• Engagement opportunities
• Communication and awareness
• Authenticity of engagements
• Responsiveness
• Financial barriers
• Technology
• Diversity and inclusion

A total of 102 respondents skipped this question, indicating they have not experienced any barriers to participation or a lack of interest in answering this question.

5. If you feel comfortable sharing, tell us more about the barriers you experienced.

Like the answers above, this question has been grouped into themes to help us identify opportunities for improvement. A total of 91 responses were submitted, with many responses including more than one topic area. Identified themes include:

• Authenticity and meaningful engagement
• Communication, awareness and access to information
• Diversity and inclusion
• Financial barriers
  Engagement tactics
• Survey designs
• Technology
• Timing
• Trust and transparency
• Responsiveness

Overall, respondents indicated that the engagement process is perceived as predetermined, lacking genuine opportunities for input, and criticized as a "sham" with staff and consultants having their own agenda. Additionally, there are concerns about the lack of awareness, poor accessibility, and multiple barriers, including issues related to time constraints, language, and health limitations, hindering meaningful participation in the public engagement process. Respondents also expressed dissatisfaction with flawed surveys, the requirement for registration and a lack of transparency and responsiveness from staff or Council.

6. I participated in one or more public engagement activities since 2017.
The majority of survey respondents (83.7%) have participated in an engagement activity within the last five years.

Those who selected no (45) skipped questions 7 – 14 and continued the survey beginning at question 15.

7. I had the information I needed to participate.

While 103 respondents selected they somewhat agree when answering if they had all of the information needed to participate, 63 strongly agreed, followed by 28 selecting somewhat disagree.

8. I felt my input was valued by the City of Kingston. When asked if input was valued, the top three answers included neither agree or disagree (73), somewhat agree (57) and somewhat disagree (43).

9. The way I engaged (e.g. survey, information session, focus group) met my needs.

85 respondents indicated they somewhat agreed the way they engagement met their needs, followed by strong agree (62) and neither agree nor disagree (32).

10. I understood how my feedback was used to make decisions.

When answering this question, 64 respondents indicated they somewhat disagree that they understood how feedback was used to make decisions. 56 respondents selected somewhat agree, while 48 selected strongly disagree and 46 selected neither agree or disagree.

11. I saw my feedback reflected in public engagement summaries.

When asked if respondents saw feedback reflected in public engagement summaries, 82 selected neither agree or disagree, followed by somewhat agree (54) and somewhat disagree (45).

12. I felt satisfied with the project or policy the City completed using my feedback.

86 respondents selected that they sort of feel satisfied with the project or policy the City completed using feedback, 72 selected no, 41 selected yes and 32 preferred not to respond.

13. Public engagement is about having two-way conversations with residents about the projects and policies that affect them, and we believe those conversations are based on trust. How do you think the City could build a stronger relationship with the Kingston community?

This question has been grouped into themes to help us identify opportunities for improvement. A total of 208 responses were submitted, with many responses including more than one topic area. High-level topics include:

• Trust and transparency
• Authenticity and meaningful engagement
• Communication, awareness and access to information
• Diversity and inclusion
• Engagement tactics
• Survey design
• Responsiveness

14. Do you have additional comments specific to the City of Kingston's public engagement efforts?

A total of 124 responses were submitted in response to this question, with many similar responses as identified in questions 12 and 13. These responses include:

• Engagements should be meaningful without any predetermined outcomes
• Input should be used to make decisions
• Engagement is treated as a check-in-the-box activity
• The reporting process should be improved to inform residents of how feedback was used to make decisions
• Communication and outreach efforts can be improved to reach more residents and hear from more voices including harder-to-reach populations, youth and newcomers; a broader community perspective is needed
• Feedback or ideas shared through email, letters or phone should receive a timely response
• Over-reliance on technology creates a barrier to participation
• Electronic engagements can help those with limited time participate
• Opportunities to engage should be expanded to ensure all members of the community can participate
• More transparency and accountability are needed
• Registration and login processes could be improved to encourage more participation
• Information should be easy to access and understand by people of all abilities
• Too much engagement can dilute the role of City Councillors in the democratic process

Some respondents also voiced their support of the City’s efforts to improve public engagement in recent years or throughout this survey, with some also noting that there remains room for improvement.